Monday 19 July 2010

Learning from 7 Year Olds (Play Design)

“Design” and the adoption of its methods, tools and thinking will increasingly be the difference between success and failure for Indoor Play centres.

It is thirty years since Indoor Play Equipment was developed and it is changed little in a World that has changed a lot. It is time for us to re-imagine our industry and Design (not just of Equipment but of the entire Business System and overall Experience) is without doubt the key to transformation.

As part of this process, we must take inspiration from wherever it resides; we must talk to children, learn from the way they play and be the conduit for their imaginations. Our role is to interpret Children’s needs based on what they show / tell us and turn observations into ideas and subsequently into financially viable products and businesses.

In my experience, the play design pyramid is the wrong way around. Play areas are “Designed” by adults sitting behind a computer “Dragging and Dropping” standard items and the Environment / Experience is hardly Designed at all.

Although you could argue that Soft Play Equipment is proven, I would suggest that instead we are building play areas that are virtually identical and in time many will therefore become commodities and commercially redundant.

As part of our efforts to motivate and inspire Soft Play Suppliers and Play Operators, we have been planning “When I Play I Want.com,” a Crowd Sourcing competition where children get to participate in inspiring the next generation of Indoor Play Experiences.

As part of developing the competition, last week we visited Wat’s Dyke Primary School and spent a couple of hours with a Class of 7 year olds, these are a few of things we learned by listening and observing:

Collecting: The whole class (boys and girls) love collecting things, everything from a series of dolls to stickers and cards

Naming: Names were very important, not only the names of children and their friends but the names of their toys and teddy bears (by far the most popular toy they brought from home)

Social: The play and learning experiences were more social than I recall; play was at the centre of the way children learned and developed / maintained friendships. The potential of play to develop social skills was evident, is anything go to be more important in the economy and child wellbeing during the next twenty years?

Identity: The whole class loved to draw, to write their name, to leave their mark

Safety: In the safe environment of the classroom and a teacher of whom they were evidently fond, they felt free to express themselves and share their ideas (if only workplaces could achieve the same freedom mixed with order)

Noise: With children comes noise, full stop.

Play time: Unstructured and with minimal interruption from adults resulted in all kinds of weird and wonderful games (aka total mayhem) and conversations that are part of the social learning experience.

Classroom: Filled with artwork, the classroom was an expression of the Children’s creativity and I imagine it changes constantly. When was the last time a play centre covered its wall in paintings by Children (or even better, allowed them to draw on the walls)?

All of this in ninety minutes. If it doesn’t change the way you design and operate your play centre then sorry, you are missing a BIG opportunity; plain and simple, you must get out more and be prepared for constant trial and error to be successful in this or any other business.

PS. I never did get used to being called Mr Lymer so I settled for being called Mr Beardface, it seemed to cause much amusement.

Tuesday 13 April 2010

Soft Play seminars, an update!

The start of 2010 has been an exceptionally busy time; we have already operated more of our seminars for people starting a soft play centre than we did throughout 2009.

After a short break to re-fresh content and develop new services, we are out and about spreading the word in the next few weeks; we are in Liverpool (Yellow Sub) on Thursday 22nd April and Watford (Parents Paradise) on Monday 26th April.

Soon, we are likely to reduce the number of seminars as we add more content to ShareAndComparePlay.com; for now we are scheduling one or two a month depending on the level of interest.

A unique offering, our seminars are the only truly independent source of information for people starting an indoor play centre and the only series of presentations covering the following:

· Key trends / success factors to consider when starting your play centre (they are not what you think)

· Why the business model needs to change and how you can benefit like no other play centre in the UK

· Play Design; what you need to know and no one else will tell you

· Independent business plan / financial information from operational play centres so that you can use real figures to evaluate your ideas

· The modern day buying process; “How to save £10,000’s starting your soft play centre”

· An interview with a successful play operator able to answer any questions you have

· Introductory meetings with leading suppliers of equipment needed to start a play centre

The feedback from the seminars has been one of the joys of our work in the last few months; the ideas discussed are really beginning to change play design and the buying process for soft play equipment, it is such a pleasure to see things beginning to change

Thank you for your support, we hope to see you soon.

ShareAndComparePlay.com is the Indoor Play Supplier Comparison Website that Saves Play Operators £10,000s. The only source of independent reviews on every Supplier to the Play Industry, ShareAndComparePlay.com works to revolutionise the Play Experience for Children and to enable Businesses to profitably understand and meet the future needs of Families.

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Suppliers, the soft play industry needs you!

ShareAndComparePlay is an independent voice in indoor play; our purpose is to provoke thought and encourage innovation whilst providing transparency throughout the value chain (by providing comparison services) for those willing to invest in new products and services.

In my fifteen years in the industry, there has been virtually no value creation or innovation and consequently the ecosystem is in decay; soft play suppliers are not making enough money to spend on R&D whilst non-core suppliers don’t invest in the market because they cannot see the ROI.

If this continues, what will the market look like? More importantly, how will we design and operate the play experiences that children need to learn the skills required to their lives in an increasingly complex world?

Although at times it may not sound like it, we see a very positive future for the indoor play industry but it requires (perhaps painful) change. As a result of our blogs, website and soft play seminars, we are beginning to see the next generation of play operators demand new services and the option to work in a way that reflects their ideas and business ethos.

At present, the supply side of the ecosystem does not seem able and / or willing to meet the needs of this next generation of play operator.

This situation leaves us with a dilemma; we have helped to create demand for new products, services and ways of working that suppliers either don’t understand or aren’t capable of serving. As a result, we are frequently asked by frustrated entrepreneurs / operators if we will provide the service and thus potentially threaten our vow of independence (not sure if this can be true when the market is not providing a service).

In short, this blog is an attempt to encourage suppliers to meet this pent up demand; it is an invitation to all suppliers to consider the following opportunities (this list is by no means exhaustive) and get in touch, these products and services are in strong demand and one way or another we need to meet demand:

• Independent Business Consultancy (operational and business model innovation)
• Social Media / Web / IT Consultancy
IP Free Soft Play Design and Costing Services (Chargeable)
• Property finding services
• Marketing / Character Development / Visualisation
• Product innovation (Particularly for children over ten years of age)
• Commercial Education products (Edutainment)
• Courses (ranging from Sports to Cookery and Art classes)

As the suppliers able to provide such services are likely to be new to the market (or an established supplier looking to innovate their business model) then we are willing to explain further the opportunities and standards required for participation. If you are unsure or confused about ShareAndComparePlay.com for any reason then please get in touch and we will reveal all.

I am not sure of the response to this call for action and so as our business continues to expand, the following criteria will determine our actions:

• Is our action for the overall good of the play industry?
• Are reputable suppliers able to meet the needs of the market?
• Does our involvement conflict with our independent position?
• Do we have the skills, capability and resource to deliver an exceptional service?

I hope this helps clear things up for now (or at least encourages communication); any thoughts, comments or questions, please let us know.

PS. I would suggest that the answer to the lack of spending on R&D is collaboration and an open-source approach to the development of key products but that is a post for another day.

Thursday 18 March 2010

Connecting the (Indoor) Play Community

Since it was established in the 1970’s, the Indoor Play Community has been a fragmented and disparate group of organisations taking an individualistic and short-term approach; we can see the results today, a community that consistently underperforms its potential in a fight for survival.

The characteristics of such zero sum markets are typically decisions based on short-term self interest, fear, incomplete information, emotion and attachment to the familiar rather than business rationale and creative embracing of the possibilities of change; ultimately, this limits potential and investment causing markets to shrink and in time, disappear.

Not a pleasant picture and so in 2009, we started ShareAndComparePlay with the objective of raising the standard of play provision in the UK; we hoped that this in turn would encourage investment and innovation, reversing the trend.

Although our small company started life as an exciting experiment, the three key values we embraced to achieve this objective were freedom of information, transparency throughout the value chain and collaborative working.

In some ways, our progress has been in advance of what we anticipated whilst in others resistance has meant that we have taken time to find alternative methods of spreading the word. In recent months, we have been working on several key initiatives to broaden the impact of such values and more of our services are being designed to better support existing operators; if we can help operators to become more successful, the circle of possibility raises upwards.

One such initiative is the collaboration between ShareAndComparePlay and Play Operators to form a new Community of Play, Play Connected. As the name suggests, our medium term aim is to create a more connected industry incorporating suppliers, operators, associations and parents / children who use the play experiences that we create.

The first meeting has taken place with astonishing results for the participating operators, the open nature of the meeting resulted in breakthroughs in terms of access to Management Information that can potentially transform the profitability of the play industry.

The next meeting is scheduled for April when more details will be agreed regarding the organisational structure but an interim progress report (requested by several people) is as follows:

· All organisations in the Play Community will be encouraged to participate; membership will be free although certain standards will have to be achieved to become a full member (membership is restricted for a little while as we implement the programme)


· ShareAndComparePlay.com and Play Connected will work together to introduce the best possible value deals from suppliers of all items needed to start and operate an indoor play centre; suppliers will have to pass an approval process to be certified by Play Connected


· The benefits that each member receives will be in direct proportion to the contribution that they make to the community


· Play Connected will explore innovative ways of generating additional revenue streams for soft play centres at both an individual and collective level


· The organisation will not be run by committee; we would like in time to create a full time role but it will generally be a democratic organisation ran by its members


· Play Connected will work with ShareAndComparePlay.com to produce quality content that will raise the profile of indoor play and encourage investment


· The structure of the collective is to be clarified but it is likely to be a co-operative of partners working towards common objectives


· Play Connected will aim to provide “Thought Leadership” and research in mission critical areas such as Information Technology, Social Media and Child Wellness


Our hope in time to provide a path to success for indoor play; we aim to inspire creativity, best practice and innovation throughout the play industry so that ultimately we can provide the best play experiences for children.

If you look at successful industries throughout the world, there is an acceptance that no organisation exists in a vacuum. In IT for example, the degree of interconnectedness will often determine the level of overall success, we hope this is the first step towards using these principles to grow the pie for all.

We will update again soon but if you have any comments, questions or wish to register interest in participating, please get in touch.

ShareAndComparePlay.com is the Indoor Play Supplier Comparison Website that Saves Play Operators £10,000s. The only source of independent reviews on every Supplier to the Play Industry, ShareAndComparePlay.com works to revolutionise the Play Experience for Children and to enable Businesses to profitably understand and meet the future needs of Families.

Follow us at Twitter.com/shareandcompare or (Un)subscribe to our Blog by e-mailing us.


Tuesday 16 March 2010

Questions to ask when starting an indoor play centre

This is the first week in a month that we are not running one of our “how to start a soft play centre” seminars; we are taking the opportunity to update content and plan the schedule for the next few months.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of running the seminars is the convergence of creativity, enthusiasm and curiosity as prospective play operators evaluate the viability of starting an indoor play centre.

Reflecting on the latest seminars, there are three key questions that together we seek to address on the website and in more detail at the seminars, these are as follows:

1. What are you aiming to achieve by starting a play centre?

The answer to this question will impact upon every subsequent decision. In simple terms, there are some people that wish to create a lifestyle business (earn a living and improve the play experience) and there are others (increasingly so) that are serial Entrepreneurs wanted to build shareholder value. Each has its merits; it is however important to understand your personal motivations and objectives and develop your business plan accordingly.

2. What kind of play area do you want to build?

The Indoor Play Centre business is due a revolution in terms of business model and design. The design is perhaps the easier to address in this short note but I would suggest you ask yourself a simple question and explore the answer fully; “If an indoor play centre had never been built, what would your perfect play centre look like?” Seek the answer and build accordingly.

3. What does a Sustainable Play Centre Business Model look like?

This is the fundamental question of our time (not just in the soft play industry); the traditional model of “Pay and Play” has yielded only limited success and is unsustainable, (certainly at the scale we have seen in the last few years). We need to work together to re-think and re-imagine a new play experience and accompanying business models of which there will be many.

Asking the right questions is merely the start. The possibilities will only begin to reveal themselves once you, we and the entire play community begin to experiment and are open to the answers; I happen to believe that the future is rosy for the brave.


ShareAndComparePlay.com is the Indoor Play Supplier Comparison Website that Saves Play Operators £10,000s. The only source of independent reviews on every Supplier to the Play Industry, ShareAndComparePlay.com works to revolutionise the Play Experience for Children and to enable Businesses to profitably understand and meet the future needs of Families.

Follow us at Twitter.com/shareandcompare or (Un)subscribe to our Blog by e-mailing us.

Monday 1 February 2010

The Spirit of Ethel / Thank you


As this is such a personal situation, I have been unsure whether I should write a short note; in the end, I thought it the best way to say thank you for everyone’s support in recent days.

On occasion, when you write a blog or communicate for the most part via a website, you wonder if anyone is out there; feedback is often limited until we meet in person at seminars or talk on the phone.

Well, last week I was reminded that we are by no means alone. My beloved Nana Ethel passed away and I have been overwhelmed and thankful for the understanding and kind words of comfort from suppliers, colleagues and users of ShareAndComparePlay.com.

Ethel was a beautiful, funny, energetic, caring and loving lady that we adored and we miss her presence beyond measure. A playful and spirited Nana who loved to laugh, she has been an inspiration throughout our lives and she will live forever in our hearts and minds.

I will treasure the memories and her passing has reminded me of the special role that Grandparents play in the lives of all children fortunate enough to know them; if I was opening / designing a play centre, I would create a special place for Grandparents to participate.

We are a small company and so are trying to keep the impact on our business to a minimum but a little disruption has perhaps been inevitable. I am very sorry but we have had to postpone the seminar scheduled for the 8th February and are currently re-arranging to accommodate the people that were booked on this date; several new dates will be confirmed in the next few days.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

With love to my family and many thanks to those who have sent us messages of condolence.

Love and best wishes
Gareth

Wednesday 20 January 2010

Indoor play centres, how much is a customer worth?

Question: Marketing, how much should a play centre spend?

Answer: Nobody knows for sure but this may change your mind…

At our recent seminar for people starting a soft play centre, one Entrepreneur reminded us that companies he has previously worked with (large Supermarkets) calculate marketing spend based on anticipated lifetime value of a customer; a very different number to what they would spend if based on people who occasionally nip in for a can of beans.

This conversation reminded me of a post by Seth Godin that has rattled around my head for weeks, once again he succinctly outlines the business case for “Embracing Lifetime Value;” these two events got me thinking.

What is the lifetime value of a child to a soft play centre and what should consequently be spent on Marketing a soft play centre?

If you run some very basic numbers, you can begin to calculate (in Financial terms at least) the value of each visitor to your play centre.

(Excuse the simplicity of the numbers, these numbers are likely low but they illustrate the point).

Assuming the entrance fee is £5 and a child visits with one parent once a week, between the ages of 0 and 8, that would be worth £2080 to the play centre. The child loves the play centre and has each birthday there, inviting 15 friends at £10 per head, that is worth another £1200. Finally, Mum or Dad comes along on each visit and has a coffee and cake spending £4 per visit; this equals £1664 over the lifetime of the period.

In total, one child that loves your play centre but is an average or low level user is worth £4944; this does not include the intangible value of parent and child being your part-time marketers.

In terms of Marketing spend, this raises several interesting questions:

· What would you be willing to spend on Marketing to initially attract parent and child?

· What Marketing initiatives offer best value to you and the customer?

· Once your centre is known and liked by child and parent, what additional services can you offer that increases the lifetime value? (I bet in can easily but doubled or tripled)

· Perhaps most importantly, what do you spend on maintaining and enhancing the play experience so that the lifetime value is protected?

My plan for 2010 was to write shorter blog posts so I will save my “answers” for future posts, for now I just wanted to invite everyone to spend a couple of hours profiling customers, calculating lifetime value and thinking of their business plan for a soft play centre; it is an exciting number.

PS. Surely, a CRM system is a must for every soft play centre; I am constantly amazed at the priceless data that we let walk out of the door!

ShareAndComparePlay.com is the Indoor Play Supplier Comparison Website that Saves Play Operators £10,000s. The only source of independent reviews on every Supplier to the Play Industry, ShareAndComparePlay.com works to revolutionise the Play Experience for Children and to enable Businesses to profitably understand and meet the future needs of Families.

Follow us at Twitter.com/shareandcompare or (Un)subscribe to our Blog by e-mailing us.